KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Their season started to go sour almost from the opening kickoff, so the Chiefs will take these moments where they can. A two-play sequence from early in a recent game against Cincinnati gave them a rare opportunity to feel good about their future.

Rookie defensive tackle Dontari Poe, the Chiefs’ top draft pick, forced the Bengals offense off the field on their first possession, first by pushing guard Clint Boling backward and knocking down a pass. Poe on the next play used a swim move to beat the other guard, Kevin Zeitler, and forced quarterback Andy Dalton to hurry his throw, which went incomplete.

The Chiefs would eventually lose the game as their season continued to unravel. But in searching for reasons to believe next year might be better, they can point occasionally, if not consistently, to Poe.

Their second- and third-round picks, offensive linemen Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson, have become starters. But much of the team’s hopes for this group of rookies is pinned to the continued development of the 345-pound Poe.

“I’m a much better player than when I first got here,” Poe said. “I came here a little afraid, but now I kind of know what’s going on.”

Poe has started every game at nose tackle this season but his biggest contribution has come as an inside rusher in obvious passing situations. He has no sacks but, with the plays against the Bengals standing as proof, he’s making a difference.

“It’s tough to get sacks, but I think I can be a big factor as a pass rusher,” Poe said. “I’m going to keep working hard, and then we’ll see.”

The Chiefs are far from playoff contention, so continued improvement from Poe won’t make their season. But as desperate as they are for signs of a bright future, they would prefer that Poe’s performance arc continues to rise.

“He’s on schedule,” coach Romeo Crennel said. “In the past, guys who have been drafted in the first round and started to play, it takes them about three-quarters of a season to feel comfortable with how we want them to play and what their responsibilities are. He’s adapted very well.

“I think he’s making progress. (Against Cincinnati) he made a pass-rush move and got to the quarterback, and he was able to pressure him. He didn’t get the sack, but he was right on him in a one-on-one situation. We’ve said all along that he might be able to help us more (as a pass rusher) than other noses we’ve had in the past.”

Poe is often compared to Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson, other defensive linemen recently drafted by the Chiefs in the first round. But Poe is already giving the Chiefs more than Dorsey or Jackson ever did because he’s playing on passing downs, a time when Dorsey and Jackson have gone to the bench.

Jackson, the third overall pick in the 2009 draft, knows the difficulty of being a defensive lineman and having to convert to the Chiefs’ two-gap system. Poe appears to be more advanced in that regard than either Dorsey or Jackson as a rookie.

“He’s coming along pretty (well),’’ Jackson said. “He’s got to keeping working to get better, just like everybody else. He needs to make a lot of improvement during the offseason. He should sit back and think about what happened to him during the season, how teams tried to block him, and get ready to beat that next year.

“He’s a big, physical, active player and he’s going to be a great player. He just needs to continue to keep working on his craft.’’